As You Wish
by Hikaru a
Summary: Aoshi's POV. A wish of Misao's turns Aoshi's world topsy-turvy. Pure silliness. (3/3)
1. When I Became Like The Rurouni

As You Wish... (1/3)  
By Hikaru

Summary: A wish of Misao's turns Aoshi's world topsy-turvy. Pure silliness.

Part I: When I Became Like The Rurouni

When I first laid eyes on the wretched object, I knew it was going to be trouble. The aura that came off the ominous jade jewels chilled me to the bone. Why _she_ didn't sense it, I'll never know. I just know that I was the one that had to pay for her lack of observation.

"Oh Kaoru-san!" Misao exclaimed, with her adorable smile forming on her face. Despite my sense of foreboding, I couldn't help but smile at Misao's reaction to the Himuras' late-wedding gift.

It had been only two weeks since Misao and I had wed. Yes, I had finally taken her as my bride, after much threatening and coercion from everyone in the Aoi-ya household, especially Okina. Personally, at that time, I was very unsure about marrying her. After all, she was... well, Misao. The little girl that I helped raise. I never really saw her as being my wife. How stupid I was before then. I would not admit to myself how much I loved her, how much I needed her to be by my side. Of course, that was about to change, thanks to the necklace that Kaoru was now clasping around my new wife's neck. The necklace was a stiff, circular collar necklace made entirely out of silver. In the middle of the piece, there were three round cut pieces of jade, bringing out the color in Misao's eyes.

The Battousai's usual smile came to his lips. "I'm glad you like it so much, Misao-dono. Kaoru-dono and I came across that on our way here."

"Yes, the shop owner said that this was an enchanted necklace that granted wishes!" Kaoru exclaimed happily, inviting the toddler Kenji to her lap. "I don't personally believe that its _really_ enchanted, but it is very pretty. Kenji-kun had spotted it and said that it would be perfect for his '_Ne-san_'."

"Hontou yo!" Kenji confirmed, smiling much like his father did. Their similarities sometimes frighten me. I can't help but imagine what this poor child would grow up to be like with the Battousai as his father and... Kaoru... as his mother.

Misao's smile grew warmer at Kenji's response. I could see the longing in her eyes as she looked at Kenji. I could tell she wanted children, which scared me at the time. Dear Misao, she never would understand how frightened I was that I would permanently scar any child we brought into this world. "Thanks, Kenji-kun." She turned to me, her eyes glistening brightly from her surge of happiness. "What do you think, Aoshi-sama?" she asked, her lips curving as she anticipated my opinion.

"It is nice." Bland, but to the point. Nothing less was expected from me anyhow. If I had just suddenly started to scream and rant on how I thought the stupid necklace was cursed, they would all just stare at me and then ask Misao if she had put anything in my tea. Yes, only a drugged Aoshi would say such a thing. If they only knew what thoughts were running through my head at that moment. If I could have, I would have smashed that precious little necklace into a thousand pieces. I just didn't like the vibes it was giving off. Its teal stones were warning me of danger.

As the night grew later, Kenji began to get very cranky, as children often do when they are tired and no attention is given to them. However, it seemed as if he was not the only one who was being ignored. Both the Battousai and I had not been directly spoken to for at least an hour previous. All we did was exchange glances, silently pleading the other to get the two women to stop talking. The Aoi-ya had since been closed for the evening, and all the members of the Oniwabanshuu had walked by and wished us a good night. I had tried relentlessly to somehow escape with one of the passers-by, but none of them would allow it. I "_needed to spend time with Misao_," they said. They knew I was suffering, they had to; and it amused them! I'm quite sure I heard Okon and Omasu giggling at me after they had exited the restaurant area. Everyone was against me. Why I took this sort treatment, I would never understand.

But Kenji, who appeared to be smarter than the Battousai and I, began to cry. _Now why didn't I think of that?_ I asked myself, as Kenji got instant attention from both Kaoru and Misao; as they paused their conversation about choice desert shops in Tokyo. "Awww, Kenji-kun..." Kaoru cooed, trying to calm him down as she bounced him up and down in her lap.

"He must be getting tired, Koishii," the Battousai said, smiling despite himself. I eyed him suspiciously. He was up to something. "I can put him to bed if you would like; that way you and Misao-dono can continue your conversation, de gozaru."

_Damn him,_ I thought to myself as I clenched my teeth together in pure anger. I damned him a thousand times over again. It was just not fair. He was going to be able to get away, and I would be there until the two girls talked themselves to sleep-- which I assumed would take many hours longer, as it was already midnight, and neither were showing any indication of being the slightest bit tired. I glared at the Battousai as he began to stand up, Kenji wrapped in his hands. Normally, the child would protest such actions coming from his father; but he appeared to be just as wary of inane gossip as we were, so he allowed his father to pick him up. "Would you like to join me de gozaru ka?" the Battousai asked, smiling at me.

Honestly, I was shocked at him trying to save me from this damn place, but I wasn't about to deny him. "Yes," I said as I stood up. I thanked Kami-sama a million times over for allowing me to escape from this. My tired body was stiff from all the sitting and wanted to rest. I decided to accompany the Battousai as far as the door and to make leave for my room. Misao would be angry, but that could be dealt with the next morning. I felt a rush of happiness as the Battousai and I headed to the door.

Why is it that females always know what you're planning?

Before we got to the door, Misao called to me, "While you're out, Aoshi-sama, can you please bring some tea for Kaoru-san and I?"

My heart sank. Never, ever, was I going to escape. But I nodded, despite my feelings. "Yes, I'll be only a few minutes." A few hours, if I could help it. But alas, I may have a cold exterior, but my upbringing at the Aoi-ya impaired me from not following simple requests-- especially those from the breathtaking Misao. I was her slave, and I hope to be for the rest of my life, as it is one of the few joys that I have in my life. She smiled at me, and that was reassurance enough that I would be back with their tea in the shortest amount of time that the boiling water would allow.

The Battousai and I accompanied each other to the main hall. Before he left for the upstairs, he began to chuckle and shake his head at me. I blinked, wondering what this meant. "You and Misao-dono are just funny to watch, Aoshi," he said, as if he read my mind on what I had been thinking.

"How so?" I asked, raising an eyebrow suspiciously at the small man.

Apparently, to the Battousai, my persona was an open book, as he always knew what I was thinking by just looking at me. I guess it was from all those years of fighting and mind raping his opponents. The Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu Mind Rape was something to be very fearful of. I had been its victim twice. The Battousai has no qualms whatsoever to lash out things to you that you were trying to forget during battle. But I digress... He knew that if he said anything concerning Misao and I, I would flat out deny it- no matter what he said. My eyes fixed on his, daring him to say something about our new way of life.

"It's just that..." he said in a half laugh, "Nevermind. Goodnight, Aoshi."

"Goodnight, Battousai." I replied, heading off into the kitchen. I was not happy that I had so easily given into Misao's bidding --seeing as I wanted to go to sleep, not stay up with her and Kaoru-- and to then have the Battousai just laugh at me was not what I needed at that moment. Furious, I slammed things around in the kitchen as I prepared the tea for the two ladies in the restaurant.

I soon returned to the back entrance of the restaurant, tea tray in hand, and a scowl on my face, I would simply tell Misao, when I walked in, that was going to bed and I would see her in the morning. She would not like that, but she would just have to understand. Gossip was not the highest thing on my list for entertainment. There were so many better things to do; like jump off a bridge. 

"So how do you like married life, Misao-chan?" Kaoru's voice. I froze with my hand on the door handle. Their conversation had just taken a turn towards the interesting. I decided to ease-drop onto the conversation, if just for a few minutes. The fact that I could find out what Misao thought of me, without directly asking her was quite appealing. Silencing my breathing, I leaned in closer to the door.

"It's okay, I guess--" Misao said, letting out a sigh. My eyes flashed when I heard this... lack of satisfaction from my wife.

There was a pause between the two. Through the shogi screen, I could see that Kaoru was trying to comfort Misao by placing her hand on top of my wife's. "In your letter, you said that you were uncomfortable at the ceremony." She was? This was news to me. Misao was all smiles the day of the wedding- it was I who was the one that acted like something terrible was about to happen. Gods, if that was Misao uncomfortable, then it seemed as if I had to take some pointers from Misao on hiding your true feelings. "What's the problem?" Kaoru continued, trying to get Misao to share. It seemed as if Kaoru had taken some lessons of interrogation from her husband.

Another sigh from Misao. "Nothing... that's the problem. He's not really doing or saying much to me. He never tells me how he feels, and I feel like I'm being shut out from him-- even more than before." A heavy amount of guilt began to weigh down on my shoulders. Of course, it was I who made her so unhappy. Me and my frozen shell of emotions. I cursed my adapted way of living at that moment, as I had done a thousand times before. Ever since I had returned to the Aoi-ya, cursing my persona seemed to become a everyday activity.

"Kenshin was the same way, Misao-chan, remember? Whenever we would have an intimate moment together, he would suddenly remember something he had to do, some clothes that he accidentally left out hanging, or some stupid thing like that," she chortled. "That's just the way guys are. Aoshi-san is just worried or nervous... or perhaps both, in his case. You can never really tell what he's thinking." Misao snorted, as if she was proving her point. Kaoru laughed nervously as I shifted my weight on my feet. The room had suddenly grown very uncomfortable, as it always does when you are the topic of discussion. "But I'm sure he'll grow out of it, just like Kenshin has. Every evening now, before we go to bed, he tells me how much he loves me."

"It must be nice..." Misao mused, sighing dreamily. So that's what she wanted? For me to tell her how I felt? That was harder than it sounded. Sure, Misao blurted it out to me at least three times a day, but for me it was very hard to tell her how I really, truly, felt.

Kaoru giggled slightly, and then asked, "How are... the _other_ things about married life, Misao-chan?"

I swallowed hard. No, she was not talking about what I thought she was talking about, was she?

"You mean, how he is in bed?" Misao blatantly asked.

I paled. She was.

And it was at that moment that I became extremely grateful for Misao's abundance of shy-ness when beds and I are the subjects at hand. She giggled shyly and muttered that she "didn't want to talk about that." Before Kaoru could convince her to spill her guts, Misao tried to change the subject, "But still... I just was hoping that after the wedding, Aoshi-sama would have become a little more romantic towards me. I guess it was my silly teenage fantasies telling me that. I should be happy about this, I mean, he's finally... mine."

I looked down to my feet guiltily. This whole ease-dropping thing had gone from bad to worse. Now, not only was I aware that I seemed like a complete bastard to Misao, I was a non-romantic bastard, who apparently was too blind to see that she needed some reassurance that I did love her. I had to end this, I didn't want to hear anymore. Tightening my grip on the door handle, I was about to open the door when Misao casually commented, "I wish Aoshi-sama acted more like Himura."

As soon as those words left Misao's mouth, a shot of pain crashed through my body like a lightning bolt. "I mean, Himura actually _does_ things, Kaoru-san... like tell you that he loves you and he takes care of the house and..."

By this time, my heartbeat became so loud in my ears that I did not hear anymore of the conversation. My eyes grew wide as my entire body doubled over from the intense pain. My body fell to the floor, shaking in convulsions. I heard the tea cups crash on the floor, but the sound was so distant. A hot flash came over my body. It felt as if my body were being taken over by some foreign being. I no longer had control over my body... it had a will of its own.

The last thing I saw, just before I passed out, was Misao's face close to mine. In the distance, I could hear her panicked voice calling to me, "Aoshi-sama! Are you all right?"

When I came to, my eyes were incredibly heavy. Light was shining down on my face, and I could hear birds singing in the distance. I slowly gathered my strength, and forced my eyes to open. It was daylight... early afternoon, from what I could tell. I concluded that I must have fell unconscious the night before while eavesdropping on Misao and Kaoru. Groaning from the pain that was now registering on the back of my head, I traced my hand against my scalp to find a large lump. I must have bumped my head when I fell. My eyes aching, I gave up the fight to keep them open, and let them close as I turned to my side.

The door to my room opened and shut. "Oh, you're awake!" That cheerful voice could belong to no one other than Misao. I could hear her coming towards me, flopping down next to my futon. My body was filled with a sudden chill, as she placed an icy cloth on my forehead. "You scared the heck out of Kaoru-san and I last night, Aoshi-sama. You should be more careful when you walk down the hallway," she said, her voice flowing like pure honey. Why hadn't I noticed how sweet her voice sounded before this? Gently, she traced her soft fingertip against my jaw bone. It felt so good. Her skin was so soft. Grateful, I forced my eyes open again and called out her name.

Or, so I thought.

From the look on Misao's face, what I had intended to say was not what I actually said-- if that makes any sense whatsoever. She blinked at me a few times, and then said, "What?"

The look of her face was very curious. Her eyes were wide with complete confusion, as she stared at me like some three year-old who had just seen magic trick for the first time. However, her expression was lacking the sense of wonder, and instead had a look of pure dread. Following her request, I said her name again. She blinked again. "What is it?" I asked.

"You..." by this time, Misao's face had become completely pale. "You... called me.... Misao...._dono_..."

It was my turn to blink. "What? What are you talking about Misao-do..." I cut myself off, now realizing that she was telling the truth. I had called her that without thinking, as if it were a natural habit to me. I was very, very confused. What the hell had happened to me?

Misao just simply smiled. She patted me gently on the top of my head and said, "You must have hit your head _really_ hard last night, Aoshi-sama." She let out a small laugh, "You just get some rest, okay? I'll bring you lunch once Himura is finished with it."

Himura. Something concerning Himura had happened the night before. I brought my hand up to my head, cursing under my breath. I couldn't remember.

I heard Misao's padded feet skip out of the room. I didn't say goodbye, but I really wasn't in the mood to say much, anyway. I had called her '_Misao-dono_'. Why had I called her that, I couldn't understand! It was as if I was.... the Battousai. But that was ridiculous. I was Shinomori Aoshi. I said it aloud, just to confirm that I was indeed... me. "I am Shinomori Aoshi," my deep voice boomed. No, it wasn't the girlie voice that the Battousai donned, it was _my_ voice. I sat up slightly, the damp cloth falling to my side, and I examined my figure. The large muscles, broad shoulders, dressed in a light summer sleeping yukata. This was _my_ body. Reassured, a laid back down on the futon and pulled the blanket in close. Before I realized it, I had fallen back asleep....

When I awoke again, it was late in the afternoon. The sky had already become a pink-ish hue with purple clouds scattered along the horizon. Next to me was a platter with miso soup and rice. Famished, I inhaled the food, stopping once in a while to chew. After my feast was finished, I laid back down on my futon. Something still did not feel right. It was like I had this urge to do something... I had just eaten, so it couldn't have been that. Bathroom? No, didn't have to do that either. I got up from my bed, adjusting my yukata's belt. Then, my bare feet walking against the cold wood floor, I paced the halls of the Aoi-ya, trying to figure out what my mind was telling me to do. Suddenly... the word came to me out of nowhere.

Laundry.

I wanted to do laundry.

Now, my old self would have never, ever, thought about the idea of doing laundry. Doing laundry had been a chore when I was training to become the Okashira, or so they told me when teen-aged Omasu and Okon handed me their loads of laundry-- full of underwear that always made me blush at the sight of them. Laundry was a horrible thing, something not for the Oniwabanshuu Okashira to be doing, most certainly. Once I had become of an age where I could defend myself, I refused to do laundry-- as that was a '_woman's chore_'.

Of course, my '_new_' self, did not share my opinion. It wanted to clean some laundry... because that was.... I paused in my pacing, and swallowed hard... fun? At that moment, I knew something was seriously wrong with me.

I tried to restrain myself, but I found it was impossible, as my body somehow meditated over to the backyard where our laundry was set up. A pile of clothes had already been set out to wash. How convenient. Instinct took over as my knees fell to the ground and I began to wash. And wash. And wash. Shinomori Aoshi was no longer in control. I took this time to try to understand what was going on. My original hypothesis of the Battousai taking over my body may have not been as far fetched as I recalled. First calling Misao 'Misao-dono' and then the need to do laundry. This certainly was not my own will acting. Again, my mind went to the night before when Misao and Kaoru were talking. Misao had said something about me and the Battousai.... yet there was a haze there. Why couldn't I remember?

I most likely would have been sitting there the entire night washing and hanging up the clothes to dry, until there were no more clothes in the Aoi-ya to wash. However, a passing-by Misao, snapped me out of my daze.

She was skipping along, in her usual cute way of walking when she thought no one was looking. She often wandered the hallways like that, just as she had done when she was younger. Old habits never die, I guess. It wasn't until I sneezed that she noticed me. She looked up at me, her eyes wide. She stared for a few minutes, as she tried to absorb what her eyes were seeing. Aoshi... doing laundry. I don't think she had ever seen me do that her entire life. Washing my swords, yes- but never laundry.

I acknowledged her presence by nodding and then saying, "Good evening, Misao-dono." _Damn,_ I cursed under my breath, _again with the _'Misao-dono'. I grimaced at my own words, and then tried to recover by adding, "Isn't it lovely out, de gozaru?" I froze. Now '_de gozaru_' was added to my vocabulary? I _WAS_ turning into the Battousai.

My feelings at that moment were reflected by the look on Misao's face, as she stared at me with pure horror. From the look in her eyes, I guessed that she understood what was going on with me... or perhaps was beginning to understand, I couldn't tell.

Lifelessly, she fumbled a few steps towards me, and then screamed on the top of her lungs, "KAORU-SAN!!!" 

Owari!  
To Be Continued in "My Misplaced Persona" 

Note: Kenshin, or in some cases Aoshi, would not be literally saying "de gozaru" if this were a translation from Japanese to English, as "de gozaru" is used for, basically, polite speaking. However, because I wanted to stress the fact that Aoshi had taken on all of Kenshin's attributes, I had no choice to put in "de gozaru".

This fiction was written for entertainment purposes only. The characters of Rurouni Kenshin belong to Watsuki-san. Standard disclaimers apply. 


	2. My Misplaced Persona

As You Wish... (2/3)  
By Hikaru

Summary: A wish of Misao's turns Aoshi's world topsy-turvy. Pure silliness.

Part II: My Misplaced Persona

"This has to be a mistake..." Kaoru said, eyeing me very carefully as if I was a tiger about to strike.

Misao had drug me inside the Aoi-ya into Okina's room, screaming for Kaoru. She, her child, and the Battousai quickly arrived and we were now having a little... chat. I was sat in the center of the room, with four sets of eyes staring at me. Misao looked as if she was about to cry. I wanted to cry, dammit! She wasn't the one who had suddenly started acting like someone else!

Pacing the room for the thirteenth time, was my wife, Misao. Her eyes were locked onto me, watching my every move. "There's no mistake about it, Kaoru-san. Aoshi-sama said '_Misao-dono_' and then said '_de gozaru_'!" I loved being talked about as if I wasn't there. Pointing at me, Misao yelled, "That IS NOT AOSHI-SAMA!!"

Rolling my eyes at her dramatics, I finally spoke, "Misao-dono... you need to calm down."

The entire room filled with one collective gasp.

"He said it!" Kaoru squeaked.

"Oro!" the Battousai blinked.

"Seeeeeeeee..." Misao cried.

Falling to her knees, Misao buried her face in her hands. She was always one to over act, she had been since she was little. I rolled my eyes again. She was acting like this was the end of the world. Of course, I was not the one bawling over saying a few words I had not meant to. I, personally, wanted some answers. Why did she look as if the world tumbled down on her when I said, '_de gozaru_'?

The Battousai turned to me, his eyes looking me up and down, as if he was not sure whether he understood things correctly. "You seem to be taking this better than Misao-dono is, Aoshi," he said, his lips curving into a small smile. It was at that moment why I remembered why I sometimes hated the Battousai. I wanted to wipe the smile off of his face. Now was NOT the time to be making jokes.

"Would it be better if I was screaming my head off like Misao-dono, Kenshin?" Taken back for a second, the Battousai blinked again. I raised my eyebrow at him and asked, "What?"

He smiled again, larger this time- more nervous. "Nothing, Aoshi. It's just very odd to hear you calling me by my first name, de gozaru."

"Would you like it better if I tacked a _-dono_ at the end of your name as well?" I retorted, sick of amusing or frightening people because of these peculiar circumstances. It wasn't as if I was going to be stuck like this forever....

....Was it?

It was at that moment that it dawned on me that I might actually _be stuck_ like this _FOREVER_. Forever acting like the Battousai, now that was a frightening thought. I supposed that was why Misao was freaking out; she had finally married me and now she might be stuck with me like this forever. I looked over to my wife, my eyes softening. Perhaps it wasn't over acting; she was concerned that she would never get the man that she loves back.

'_Man that she loves?_' I asked myself. That was a first-- I knew that she loved me, but why did it seem like a realization at that moment? My old self would have never admitted that she loved me, even if Misao told me three times a day that she did. Strange- I supposed that this little persona switch also had me beginning to think like the Battousai as well. Curious.

Without realizing what I was doing, I scooted over to Misao, leaning over her shaking form and wrapped my arms around her. She froze for a moment, and then gave in- collapsing completely against my chest. The feeling of sheer warmth that flowed between the two of us was indescribable. Never had I felt like this when I had held her before- like we were meant to be like this for eternity. Pulling her more in, I held her tight. "Go on, Misao-dono..." I heard my voice say. "Cry all you want, de gozaru. Cry all that you wish to..."

At the word '_wish_' Misao froze. Her face had turned pale as she looked into my eyes. "What did you say?"

That was not the first time I had said _de gozaru_, so why did she want me to repeat myself again? Blinking, I repeated what I had said. "That's it, Kaoru-san!" she exclaimed, pushing me away in one fluid motion. "The _wish_ Kaoru-san, the WISH! _That's_ what did this!!"

"Wish?" The Battousai and I both asked simultaneously. We looked at each other and blinked, then looked at our wives respectively and blinked again. Apparently, we had both missed something. My mind wandered back to the night previous. Just before I fell, Misao _had_ said something about wishes... Racking my brain for the exact words she said, I looked down to the floor in deep thought.

The sound of Misao's voice made me look up. "Yes," she said. "It must have been true- about the necklace that you gave me--" she brought her right hand up to the collar necklace, wrapping her thin fingers around it protectively. "This necklace does grant wishes," she said in a low voice.

"Don't be silly, Misao-chan!" Kaoru said, waving her hand at Misao. "That's absolute nonsense!"

Misao looked down to the floor. "Is it, Kaoru-san?" she asked quietly. "Then why is Aoshi-sama like this now?"

"Koishii.... what exactly did Misao-dono '_wish_' for?" The Battousai asked, scooting over more towards his wife.

Flinching slightly, Kaoru cranked her neck away from her husband, like some child who had just been caught. A slight flush appeared on her face as she nervously laughed, "Uhh... she really didn't wish anything, Kenshin-- it was more of a casual observation..."

"Which was?" Kenshin asked, leaning closer to his wife.

I looked over to my wife, whose face was now flushing bright red of embarrassment. My eyes quickly shifted over to Kaoru's face, which was about the same shade of red. A wish... involving the Battousai? Focusing onto the brief moment before I fell the night previous, I tried to force myself to remember what Misao had said.

_"I wish Aoshi-sama acted more like Himura."_

That was it! I snapped back into reality, where the Battousai was now drilling Misao for information. Shriveling up of embarrassment, she quietly sat there, her hands balled into fists and sitting on her lap, as the Battousai repeated his question once more, "What did you wish for, Misao-dono?"

"Misao-dono wished for me to act like Kenshin..." I said, my eyes staring into nothingness. Taken a back, the Battousai looked at Misao, shocked at the very idea. Kaoru simply bit her lip, trying to disappear from the room. I slowly raised my head and locked my eyes onto Misao's. "Isn't that right, Misao-dono?"

With all eyes on her, Misao swallowed hard. She nervously eyed me, then the Battousai, and finally Kaoru. Lowering her head, she quietly muttered a feeble "yes."

Now the two Himura's looked to me, staring at me with non-blinking eyes. Nonplused, I sat there with my eyes locked onto Misao, who had further hidden her face by lowering her head. Low sobs could be heard throughout the room. A wave of uneasiness came over the two Himura's, whilst I continued to sit and stare at my bride.

"Perhaps we should step out, Aoshi-san," Kaoru said nervously, about to get up. "You probably want to speak to Misao-chan alone, right?" Picking up Kenji as she stood, Kaoru gently kicked Kenshin, mentally telling him to get out of the room as well.

They shuffled out the door quickly, Misao watching as they left, silently begging them not to leave. Perhaps she was afraid I'd break out in an angry rage. Funny. I wasn't feeling very angry. I was more sad than anything. The conversation she and Kaoru had the night before was now perfectly clear in my mind; I remembered every detail that I heard. And it hurt. I hurt to think that my wife wished I acted like someone else... and of all people, Himura!

Perhaps I cared about Misao's opinion more than I thought I did. Damn.

"I'm sorry," Misao whispered, her head lowered.

Shaking my head, I moved my hand under her chin, forcing her to look up at me. "Do you hate the way I act that much, Misao-dono?" I was so upset, that the fact that I had added the stupid suffix to her name didn't even faze me.

"No!" She shook her head out of my grasp, "No, no, no, no, Aoshi-sama." She traced her right hand under my chin. An electric wave shot through my body as she did so. Her scent filled my nostrils, smelling like a mix of peach and cherry blossoms. Strange I had never noticed it before. It was intoxicating. "I love you Aoshi-sama," she said, her voice completely sincere.

"Then why did you wish me to act like someone else, de gozaru ka?"

"I said I was sorry," Misao snapped back.

My voice suddenly became more serious, "Well, your apologies are not going to fix the situation!" Amazing... that was exactly what I was thinking!

Misao froze, staring at me in pure shock.

"What is it?" I asked, grimacing at her. Was she shocked to find that I could actually express how I felt. Sure, it did surprise me slightly, but she didn't have to look at me with her eyes so wide. I wasn't sure if she was going to start crying again or start screaming.

She did neither.

A small smile formed on her face, in true weasel form. "Nothing-" she said, almost giggling. "It's just that... we've never had a fight before."

My eyebrow arched, "You say that like it was a good thing de gozaru."

"It _is_ a good thing!" Misao jumped towards me, wrapping her arms around my broad shoulders. Her hands struggled to touch each other, to complete the circle. I might have smiled, because it was so cute, but I was too preoccupied at being upset at my wife. "It means you're not ignoring your feelings," she continued, as if not acting like my normal self was a good thing.

I pushed her away, her hands hanging loosely at my sides, "Is that what this is all about? Showing my feelings?"

Misao brought herself towards my chest again, "Aoshi-sama-- I never know what you're thinking. You don't know how much it means to me for you to be showing this much emotion!"

"Misao-dono..." my voice squeaked. I blinked. My voice sounded so uncertain. Turned on, even. No, no, I was sad, remember? Sad, sad, sad, sad.

One of her hands traced up my spine.

Okay, no longer sad.

How did she have this power over me? Changing to one emotion to another in a few seconds, because of her one action. I was her puppet to control. And, looking into her eyes, I knew that she had no idea of that power. If she did, she hid it quite well. "I don't understand," I said aloud.

Misao pulled back and looked into my eyes. "What?" she asked, her voice so innocent.

_I don't understand how I have been so turned onto you._

I don't understand how I can be so calm in these strange circumstances.

I don't understand why we are still clothed.

.... What?

It seemed I had just discovered the Battousai's hidden "drive", to give it a proper name. It explained a lot, really... but it wasn't exactly a fact I wanted to know about the Battousai. Looking down at Misao, I decided that perhaps I should at least give into this... lust... just this once.

Sweeping up Misao in my arms, I lowered my lips to her ear and whispered breathlessly, "Let's retire to our room de gozaru."

She flushed instantly, trying to look as if she didn't understand what I was implying. "Aoshi-sama," her voice said, shaking ever so slightly. "I thought you were upset!"

Frowning, I said, "I will be if you don't come with me, Misao-dono."

"You're holding me up."

"I could put you down, Misao-dono."

"Stop calling me that," she said, frowning.

"When you stop calling me, Aoshi-sama," I retorted. She glared at me.

Perhaps sex was not such a good idea after all. She didn't really feel in the mood, and hell, I didn't even know why I was in the mood. She was right, I _was_ upset at her. We were in the middle of an argument, in fact. But then she had to look so adorable, happy that I was expressing myself.

Damnit, why was happening to me? The Battousai just couldn't be so... well, horny. It was a picture I didn't want to think about at all.

Misao took a deep breath in, closing her eyes. She then whispered, "Okay."

Blinking, I asked, "Okay, what?"

"Okay let's go to our room." Misao raised her eyebrow, "Do I have to spell the rest out for you?"

I didn't hesitate for a moment. I rushed to our room and quickly sat her down on the futon. It didn't take too long for the both of us to become... unclothed. Misao was particularly anxious, undressing me herself piece by piece. After my chest was bared, she ran her small hands against it, tracing every scar with her fingers.

I pulled her towards me, pulling her obi undone as I did so. By the time she was in front of me, her top was gaping open, exposing her chest. Her eyes flickered as she saw me staring. She brought her hand up to my face, and whispered, "You don't have to do this. It's my fault you're like this."

I shook my head, "No, I want to. Let us pretend that nothing happened today..." I restrained myself from saying '_de gozaru_', which would ruin the moment. Bully for me. "...and just pretend, I'm acting... normal."

"But you never act normal, Aoshi-sama."

Grimacing, I pounced her. She gasped of surprise, but before she could retaliate, I flipped her to the top, "You know what I mean, Misao-dono." I raised my face to her lips and kissed her. An innocent kiss, telling her to drop the subject.

She smiled, "One thing before we begin."

"What?"

"Do you have to keep calling me by name?" Misao asked me, pulling me in closer to my body. It was becoming harder to concentrate as her alluring smell found its way into my nostrils. Never had I been so enchanted by her. "Can't you just say, 'you'?"

I frowned as best as I could under the circumstances, but when the one that you love is lying there in your arms, naked-- it's very hard to force yourself to frown. "But that would be improper, Misao-dono-- I couldn't do that."

"Did you just say '_sessha?_'" Misao asked, pushing herself away from my body.

Thinking for a second, it occurred to me that I had. The Battousai was taking over my persona by the minute. "I suppose I did, Misao-dono..."

"That's it-" she said, killing all physical contact between us. "Moment ruined! Damn, there's no way I could make love to you while you're saying '_Misao-dono_' and '_sessha_'... by Kami-sama, that would be like sleeping with Himura!"

I fell flat on my back with a loud _THUD_. Furiously, I ran my hand through my hair and said, "That's it- tomorrow we're going to find out how to fix _your_ mess, de gozaru."

Turning to face me, Misao, who was now sitting up, glared and asked, "And how do you propose we do that, Aoshi-sama?"

"Simple," I replied. "We find this woman who sold Kaoru-dono the necklace."

"Somehow," Misao sighed, "I think that's going to be more difficult than you think, Aoshi-sama."

"Misao-dono, _please_ stop calling me that, de gozaru."

She stuck her tongue out at me, "I will when you stop calling me Misao-dono." 

Owari!  
To Be Concluded in "All's Fair in Wishes and Love" 

Note: No, he did not say _sessha_, but if this fic were in Japanese he would have, and I just couldn't find a proper way to translate Kenshin's rurouni way of referring to himself ;;.

This fiction was written for entertainment purposes only. The characters of Rurouni Kenshin belong to Watsuki-san. Standard disclaimers apply. 


	3. All's Fair in Wishes and Love

As You Wish... (3/3)  
By Hikaru

Summary: A wish of Misao's turns Aoshi's world topsy-turvy. Pure silliness.

Part III: All's Fair in Wishes and Love

Adventuring on the trail to Tokyo, with Misao, Battousai, his wife and son would not be the first thing on my "fun things to do" list. In fact, I doubt it would make number fifty-two. If Kenji wasn't crying or whining, then Misao was whining. She made it quite obvious that she did not want to be on this trip. I believed she, more than anyone else in our motley crew, deserved to make this trip. After all, it was her wish that had me acting so strangely. During the last two days of us traveling, I found myself becoming less and less in control of my actions. Everyone in the group found it as horrifying as I did. But it was on the morning of the third day, that the wish would change everything in my life.

I had been the first to awaken. My eyes were heavy, and my back ached. Sleeping on the ground for three nights straight was starting to take its toll. I would have to sleep in a bed soon before my back pained me too much. Normally, the pain wouldn't bother me, as I had trained myself to block out the pain, but without my inner walls to do that, the pain stuck its tongue in my face. I looked over to the Battousai and his family, glaring slightly. He had fallen "asleep" with a smile on his face. "Asleep" meant he was in a light state of sleep, which I had also had become a victim of, where he could hear snails crawl. His old habits from the _Bakumatsu no Doran_ had apparently never subsided. I knew everything that was going on around the woods at all times. Drove me mad. My sleep usually was a deep sleep, dangerous, yes- but I had the ability to awaken if any dangerous noises echoed. The Battousai was just paranoid.

My first instinct was to cook breakfast. Cooking was not one of my strong points. In fact, the last time that I had cooked, I was thirteen and Misao three, and the Aoi-ya had almost burned to the ground. Misao thought it was hilarious. I was grounded for a week. Okon and Omasu would not allow me near any cooking utensils after that. Nevertheless, I wanted to cook. Silently, I unpacked a pan from the Battousai's bag, along with some vegetables that were in there as well. I lit a small fire and began to fry some vegetables.

To be honest, even with the Battousai persona's help, I still didn't know what I was doing.

The pan soon emitted a thick, black smoke.

Panicking, I took the pan up in my hand, its intense heat burning against my hand. I let out a curse under my breath and broke into a dash for the woods. As I left our small camp, I tripped over Misao, who let out a loud moan. Great. Not only had I started a small fire while trying to cook, I had now awoken Misao, who would no doubt poke fun at my attempt. Misao was a wonderful cook, even when she was younger, and she would often boast of her talents to me.

I ignored the waking Misao and continued on my way, away from the camp, the pan now full of flames. _Damn, damn, damn, damn_, I thought to myself, trying to find a spring, a river, anything that I could put the pan into to extinguish the fire. Finally, I came across a small pond. I threw the pan into the pond, not even caring about saving it. It was only after the loud splash did I realize that I had just thrown the Battousai's pan into the pond, which was probably the only one their family owned.

_Shit_.

Grumbling under my breath, I took off my purple gi and discarded it. The morning's brisk breeze swept against my chest, filling me with chills. I shivered as I looked to the green pond. Moss was floating around it, along with Kami-sama knows what else. Taking a deep breath, I dove into the pond, in search of the cursed pan.

Moments later, I emerged. Covered in green moss, filth and whatever could have possibly lurking in the foul pond, with the Battousai's pan in hand. Misao was standing at the bank of the pond, my gi in hand, and laughing uncontrollably. It seemed as if my luck was only getting worse.

"A-Aoshi-sama..." she said in-between chuckles, "What on earth were you doing?"

I glared at her, swiping my gi from her. "I tried to cook," I hissed angrily. I dropped the pan to the ground and snapped the gi loudly before putting it back on. Running my hands through my hair, I let out a loud sigh, "I swear- your wish will be the end of _sessha_, Misao-dono." Letting out a strangled yell, I stomped on the ground in anger. I had said '_sessha_' again-- something I had restrained myself from saying since the night that Misao and I had... almost consumed our love for one another.

She let out another giggle, only angering me further. Chancing a glance at my glare, she cleared her throat, "S..sorry." Her smile turned warm, as she looked at me with adoring eyes. I felt my heart sink. She looked so angelic, even so early in the morning. It was times like this that I knew why I had fallen in love with Misao, no matter how hard I tried not to. Still laughing lightly, she brushed off some moss that was on the edge of my shoulder, "You're a mess, Aoshi-sama."

I couldn't help but stare. No matter how hard I tried to snap myself out of my daze, I couldn't. Suddenly, all of the anger that was bottled up inside of me was released as she touched me. It was as if she just hit the right spot, and all of my frustration leaked out from the hole she made with her touch. I grabbed her hand gently, and looked into her eyes. Her eyes grew wide, staring at me with curiosity, as she was not exactly sure of what I was doing. A small smile came to my face as I said, "Don't worry about the moss, de gozaru." So suave, I know. Blame the Battousai, not me. Perhaps if it were me in control, I would have said something like, '_Do you know you look absolutely stunning right now?_'

... Perhaps it was a good thing I hadn't. That would have sounded incredibly stupid.

With another smile, Misao kneeled down to the pan I had dropped. "You know you can't cook, Aoshi-sama... I doubt even Himura's persona could help you cook something eatable."

Grimacing, I took the pan back in my hand. "I couldn't help it," I tried to explain. "I had the urge to..." I looked at her, feeling defeated. "Cook." If I had less of an ego, I would have asked her to help me, but as it was I already looked like a fool. Asking for help would have only made it worse.

"My poor Aoshi-sama..." Misao ran her hand across my cheek lovingly. "Having to go through so much for the sake of cooking."

"It's your fault, Misao-dono."

Her hand made its way to my shoulder, swiping off more moss. "Perhaps," she said casually. A devilish grin came across her face, "I think you were asking for it though."

"And I think you're asking to be thrown into the pond, de gozaru."

"No I-"

_SPLASH!_

It was only a few moments before Misao emerged from the pond again, in a fiery rage. If someone had told me that the water steamed off of her because she was so angry, I would have believed them.

"A-O-S-H-I-S-A-M-A!"

A sheepish grin crossed my face as I tried to look innocent of the crime. I winced as a huge piece of green gunk fell from the top of Misao's head to the ground. "... Sorry Misao-do-"

A shuriken passed by my ear.

"-no..."

She was on top of me before I could realize what was happening. She was using the sheer amount of her anger as a force- dangerous, as I had learned when I was trying to fight the Battousai. Taking the sides of my gi in her hands, she threw me to the ground. "STOP CALLING ME THAT!" she shouted. Jumping atop of me, she slowly lowered her head to mine, in the way a tiger would attack a helpless gazelle.

Sure, I could have done something, but I wanted to see what she was up to.

.... and if you believe that, then I'm a geisha.

"The next time you call me that," she warned in a harsh whisper as she raised a shuriken to my face, "You're going to regret it, Aoshi-_sama_." Her eyes were glowing with madness. Silently, she dared me to call her name as another blob of green fell from her shoulder to my cheek.

I stared at her for a few moments, thinking of how I got into this mess. After all, this was _her_ wish, not mine. My first thought was to tell her that everything was entirely her fault that I was acting like this. The glint in her eyes made me consider another option. If I had taken this moment to tell her that, she would have almost definitely made sure that we could never have children. Instead, I would take the husband-ly approach. "Misao-do-"

She stabbed the shuriken into the ground next to my head. "Stop!" she commanded. Letting out a scream of frustration she got off of me and jumped to her feet. "This is driving me crazy!" she shouted, putting her hands against her ears.

I slowly got up from the ground, glaring at my wife. "_You're_ sick of this, Misao-dono? _You're sick_?" I stomped over to her, pulling her hands off of her ears with a very strong grip. How could she be so selfish about this? It was all her fault that everything had turned out the way it had.

No... not her fault. It was the damn necklace's fault. Its jade stones caught my eye as Misao struggled under my grip. With my free hand, I tore the necklace off of Misao's neck and let go of Misao. She fell to the ground, landing on her side like her ninja skills had trained her to do.

"What are you doing, Aoshi-sama?" She asked, slightly scared. Perhaps she thought since I was acting like the Battousai I wouldn't retaliate against her threats. Apparently, she hadn't seen him at his frightening moments. "That was the gift Himura, Kaoru-san and Kenji-kun gave me!"

I shot her a glare. "And it's the same gift that's making me act the way that you find so annoying, de gozaru. It's your fault for wishing something so careless, and this piece of metal's fault for granting it!" The anger surged within me. Was this the Battousai coming out? I strained myself, trying to calm down before I did something I regretted. I looked to Misao, the terrified look in her face. My hands dropped to my sides. The anger had subsided.

Something warm wrapped around me. Before I realized it, Misao had wrapped her arms around me. She was crying. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she muttered as she rubbed her head against my stomach. I looked down to her, putting one of my hands on her head, as the other hand dropped the necklace to the ground. "I want the old Aoshi-sama back... I love that Aoshi-sama... I want the man that I've dreamed about since childhood..."

"_Misao-dono..._" I whispered, lowering my head to her.

She stood on her tiptoes, wrapping her arms around my neck to help her to my face. Her nose touched mine, as a tear streamed down her face. "I'm sorry..." she whispered back. And then she leaned in and kissed me. Moaning in desire, I pushed my tongue into her mouth. I wanted to taste her, right at that moment. The fact that she really did love me for the man that I truly was made me so... happy, to put it simply.

I wasn't the only one who longed for this. Misao moaned loudly, as she too snuck her tongue into my mouth. She pulled down on me, trying not to lose her balance. And as we stood there kissing, struggling under our extreme difference of our heights, I became aware of how complete Misao made me. I needed nothing else. Meditation, fighting, nothing compared the wholeness that I experienced at that moment.

Misao pulled away from me, smiling, but then paused. We both heard it. A loud _CRACK_. Slowly, she lifted up her foot to reveal the necklace, broken in half. I wished I had thought of that sooner. Perhaps, before Misao had made that stupid wish of hers. She looked to me and then to the necklace. "What does this mean?" she asked more to herself than to me.

"It means that you stepped on the necklace," I blandly observed. She hit me hard in the ribs.

Kneeling down to the necklace, Misao picked it up from the ground gingerly. "Does this mean..." she looked back up to me, "That you're going to be stuck like Himura now? Does this mean we can't undo the spell?" She stood up quickly, pulling on my gi, "Do you feel any different, Aoshi-sama?"

To be honest, I didn't. I could have lied and told her that I felt that the Battousai persona had left me; that I felt just like my own self again and there was nothing to worry about. But I would probably blotch it all up with saying '_Misao-dono_' and then the jig would be up. I looked to her with regret. I shook my head, "No, I..."

Suddenly my heartbeat echoed in my ears, just like it had when Misao had made the wish. I heard Misao in the distance, saying something to me as she wrapped one of her arms around my back. I became feverish, as pain shot through my body. Everything was the same as before. The world grew dark, and the last thing I saw was Misao hovering me, looking worried. I smiled weakly at her, just before I let the darkness overtake me.

"But Kenji doesn't _want_ to leave _Ne-san_!" The toddler wrapped his arms around Misao's neck, expressing his distaste in having to leave. It had been a day since we had arrived back in Kyoto. After I had passed out in the woods, Battousai and his wife lugged me back to the Aoi-ya, leaving Misao to tend to Kenji, much to her joy. The look on her face as Kenji began to wail that he didn't want to go back to Tokyo was priceless. Her eyes had a desire burning in them, happy that the child didn't want to leave. I was sure that she'd bring the subject of children up as soon as the Himuras left.

The Battousai smiled up at me, with a knowing look. He saw the same thing I had. Half-laughing, he whispered, "I think you'd make a good father, Aoshi."

I gave him the glare of death, replying with "Shut up, Battousai."

Yes, yes. I had been cured of the curse and was now free to call the Battousai whatever I pleased. In fact, I contemplated calling him worse names at that moment, but not in front of Kenji.

Letting out another chuckle, the Battousai tapped me on my back, "It's good to have you acting back to normal, Aoshi. I was starting to worry about you, de gozaru."

Rubbing my hand against my head, I let out a small sigh, "I still worry about you, Battousai. You have some serious issues that I'm glad I don't have to deal with anymore." _Like your sex drive_, I added silently, _you horny pervert._

Misao had finally managed to put Kenji into Kaoru's arms. He was still crying, but at least they could now begin their journey. Smiling, Misao gave Kaoru a hug, "Thank you for visiting us." She stole a look over at me and added, "And making our lives interesting for a few days."

"No problem," Kaoru giggled, nuzzling her head against Kenji's. "You will write to us soon, won't you Misao-chan? And you two _must_ come visit Tokyo again."

Nodding, Misao rubbed the top of Kenji's head, messing up the child's orange hair. "Of course. We'll come visit real soon!"

We waved goodbye to the family, watching them disappear over the horizon as the morning sunlight beat down on us. After they were gone, I looked down to Misao and wrapped my right arm around her, bringing her in close. "I can't tell you how glad I am that's over, Aoshi-sama," Misao said, letting out a loud chortle.

I raised an eyebrow, "Aoshi-_sama_?" An amused smile came to my lips. "Didn't you say you were going to stop calling me that when I stopped calling you Misao-dono, Misao?" I asked, teasing her.

Surprised, she blinked as she looked up at me. "You remember that?" she asked. "I was just joking! You'll always be Aoshi-sama."

And be annoyed for the rest of my life? I really hated that she called me that- I had ever since my return to the Aoi-ya. Of course, I had never expressed this annoyance because, well, I used to be the stupid silent type. The experience with the Battousai's persona had taught me to act differently. "Fine, then you'll stay Misao-_dono_," I replied devilishly.

She looked up at me with a look of pure disgust. "Fine," she snapped back. "Aoshi, okay? Aoshi." Not pleased with this, she took a few steps away from me, looking to the street where the Battousai's family had disappeared. "You know," she mused, "You got off really easy, considering."

"How so?" I asked, raising my eyebrow again. Acting the exact opposite as I normally did was getting off _easy_? I looked at my wife like she was insane.

A mischievous grin formed on her lips. "Well," she said trying to be clever, "You could have also ended up saying '_oro_' every three seconds, just like Himura does." She broke into giggles, looking at me as if daring to say something.

So she still found the whole thing amusing, eh?

I looked to her and blinked. "Oro?"

Her laughter cut off as her face dropped. The look of horror that she had given me when she happened upon me doing laundry returned to her face.

I smiled, "Got you!"

"OHHHH!" Misao growled, stomping back into the Aoi-ya. "You're so mean! I hate you Aoshi-_sama_!"

My smile only grew larger as I watched her slam the door shut to the restaurant. I let out a small laugh and looked back to the door. "Yeah, I love you too, Misao-_dono_." 

Owari!

Afterword:  
HAHAA! It's done. It's cheesy. It's pointless. And I love it. Aoshi-chan is such a nasty little pervert. He wants sex. Hehe, yeah he does, and so does Misao. I was thinking of putting a lemon scene in this, but then I decided against it. There were enough sex jokes throughout this, didn't need anymore. Eventually I'll make the pointless smut oneshot where I'll get to write the lemon with them. Yeah, one day. Hope everyone enjoyed this silly little thing. It just goes to prove that a bad idea can produce...

... a bad fic XP

Thanks to everyone on and the amml who's left reviews. You guys are awesome!

And so ends Rurouni Kenshin's "As You Wish..." 

This fiction was written for entertainment purposes only. The characters of Rurouni Kenshin belong to Watsuki-san. Standard disclaimers apply. 


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